Large Bitcoin, Ether and XRP holders have continued adding to their positions during the 2026 sell-off, according to an Aug. 5 CryptoQuant report, a pattern the blockchain analytics firm associates with the later stages of bear markets. The data does not establish that prices have reached a durable bottom, CryptoQuant cautioned, but it shows large wallets absorbing supply as smaller holders sell into weak market conditions.
Bitcoin whale balances excluding exchanges, mining pools, exchange-traded funds and digital asset treasury companies climbed to roughly 3.06 million BTC, CryptoQuant analyst Julio Moreno wrote. Those balances had fallen to about 2.87 million BTC in December 2025, suggesting that the largest non-institutional and non-exchange wallet cohort has added around 190,000 BTC during the downturn.
CryptoQuant said whale holdings recorded positive 30-day growth for most of 2026, with accumulation accelerating after Bitcoin dropped below $60,000 in June. The pace of buying places current whale behavior closer to periods when large holders build exposure during distressed conditions than to the distribution patterns often seen near market peaks.
The balance remains below the cohort’s 2025 high of approximately 3.23 million BTC. That gap means large holders have not rebuilt positions to their prior-cycle peak, leaving room for continued accumulation if selling pressure persists.
Realized price sets the market’s stress level
CryptoQuant compared spot prices with realized prices, a metric that measures the average price at which coins were last moved on-chain. Realized price is widely used to assess how much of a network’s supply is held at a gain or loss, although it does not capture every off-chain transaction or ownership change.
Bitcoin traded around $64,640 while its realized price stood near $52,900, according to the report. That leaves the aggregate Bitcoin market above its estimated cost basis, even after the sharp decline from previous highs.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said about 52% of Bitcoin’s tracked supply was in profit. A figure near half the supply means a large share of holders are carrying unrealized losses, which can produce sustained selling if holders capitulate but can also reduce the number of readily available sellers once that process runs its course.
Darkfost also reported that long-term wallets added 380,000 BTC over the previous 30 days. At Bitcoin’s stated price near $64,000, that quantity represents more than $24 billion in BTC at prevailing market values, though wallet accumulation does not necessarily reveal whether purchases came from newly deployed capital, internal transfers or entities changing custody arrangements.
The $52,800 to $52,900 region has gained attention because it sits close to Bitcoin’s realized-price estimate. A move toward that level would test the average on-chain cost basis of circulating supply, while a sustained break below it would place a greater portion of holders underwater and challenge the view that the current phase is nearing exhaustion.
Ether’s largest wallets add while mid-sized holders retreat
Ether displayed a more pronounced divide between wallet groups. Addresses holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH increased their combined holdings to a record 19.6 million ETH, from around 14 million ETH in mid-2025, CryptoQuant reported.
At the same time, wallets holding 1,000 to 10,000 ETH cut their balances to 12.9 million ETH from roughly 15.6 million ETH in January. The opposing movements suggest that supply has shifted away from substantial but smaller holders toward entities with much larger balances.
CryptoQuant’s “mega whale” category, defined as wallets holding more than 100,000 ETH, added about 1.8 million ETH since mid-2025. Their combined balance rose from around 2.6 million ETH to about 4.6 million ETH, an increase of roughly 70%, and remained near record levels in the report’s data.
Ether traded near $1,900 against a realized price of roughly $2,450, according to CryptoQuant. Unlike Bitcoin, Ether was trading below the network’s estimated aggregate cost basis, placing more holders in a loss position. That distinction helps explain why Ethereum’s wallet data can show strong accumulation without offering a clear signal that price weakness has ended: large buyers may be absorbing supply from holders exiting at losses.
XRP derivatives activity has cooled alongside spot absorption
CryptoQuant also identified large XRP spot order sizes while the token traded between $1.00 and $1.20. The firm characterized those transactions as “big whale” activity and said cumulative volume delta had shifted into neutral territory.
Cumulative volume delta tracks whether market orders are predominantly lifting offers or hitting bids. A neutral reading, combined with large spot activity, can indicate that limit buyers are absorbing available sell orders rather than chasing the price higher through aggressive market purchases. It offers a less dramatic form of demand than a sharp increase in buy-side market orders, but can be consistent with accumulation during a falling market.
XRP traded near $1.10 while its realized price was about $0.75, CryptoQuant said. The token therefore remained above its estimated average on-chain cost basis, even as trading activity softened.
XRP open interest, or the value of outstanding derivatives contracts, fell to a six-month low of $2.25 billion, according to the report. Lower open interest can reduce the market’s exposure to forced liquidations triggered by heavily leveraged positions, though it also reflects a decline in speculative participation.
Across the three assets, CryptoQuant’s data points to concentrated buying by the largest wallet cohorts rather than a broad return of demand across all holders. That pattern can form a foundation for stabilization if sell-side supply continues to shrink, but the divergence between Bitcoin’s position above realized price and Ether’s position below it shows why a single bottom signal would be premature.
Whales accumulating BTC, ETH, and XRP? Explore on-chain sentiment and trend signals in our crypto market sentiment guide.
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